1. Field of the invention
This invention relates generally to the art of luminoscopic analysis and specifically to an analytic device and method for use in reflective luminoscopy.
The terms "luminoscopic" and "luminoscopy" are used herein synonymously with "luminometric" and "luminometry", respectively, and are intended to encompass "colorimetric" and "colorimetry", as well as "fluorometric" and "fluorometry", respectively. "Colorimetry" and "colorimetric" are understood herein as involving measurement of color changes in response to an analytic sample containing a substance of analytic interest "Fluorometry" and "fluorometric", on the other hand, is intended to refer to methods and devices where a change of fluorescence is measured in response to a substance of interest contained in an analytic sample.
More specifically, the invention concerns a device for use in reflective luminoscopy, i.e. where luminoscopic changes are observed by a reflected beam of light, preferably of an essentially monochromatic nature; for brevity, such a device will also be called a "reflectoscope" herein.
Further, the term "luminometric layer" as used herein is intended to refer to an essentially transparent layer of a solid or pseudo-solid (e.g. gel-type) material containing a colorimetric or fluorometric indicator.
2. Prior Art
Luminoscopy is known in the analytic art and specific examples can be found in EP-A-0 083 703, EP-A-0 127 106, EP-A-0 281 829 and the art of reference discussed in these documents. Reflective luminoscopy is disclosed in the first of the above documents. This method has the inherent advantage that observation can be made from one side of the luminoscopic layer while interaction of such layer with the substance or species of analytic interest acts upon the layer from the opposite side; in other words, the luminoscopic reaction between the indicator and the species of analytic interest can be carried out in a relatively simple manner without interfering with the observation of the result of the luminoscopic reaction.